Often a user must grasp or otherwise manipulate an object with the fingers of his or her hand. It is often the case that proper illumination of the object to be manipulated is essential, especially in low light environments, so that the user may both locate and properly manipulate the object. This is especially true in “close work” situations, where the user must locate small objects and perform small, intricate movements upon the object.
For instance, when healthcare professionals examine or operate upon patients, a brightly illuminated work surface is essential, especially at the fingertips of the healthcare professional's hand. This is also true in the electronic parts assembly field or for pilots when flying at night in cockpits dimmed to improve visibility of objects outside of the cockpit. In the instance of a pilot, the dimmed cockpit makes locating and operating the control switches of the airplane difficult without the use of illumination devices. Other areas of work which may includes similar situations include those of a plumber, a mariner, a policeman, a fireman, an electrician, etc.
To address this problem, several hand illumination assemblies have been developed that illuminate an object being grasped by the user's fingers. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,902,289, entitled “Illuminated Hand Cover Assembly,” filed on Jun. 4, 2003, an illuminated hand cover assembly is shown and described that directs the axis of illumination of the light source at the palmar surface of the fingertips of the user.
When using such a hand illumination assembly, the wearer is often using the opposite hand to hold or touch an object. In such situations, it is extraordinarily useful for the wearer to be able to activate the illumination device with the hand wearing the device. Known prior art devices that include switches on the same hand as the illumination device are not ideally placed such that the user can easily access the switch with that same hand.
For instance, in known prior art devices, the switch may be located on the wrist, the cuff, or the back of the hand, which requires the user to use his or her opposite hand to activate the switch. Other known prior art devices locate the switch on the palmar surface of the hand or adjacent to the palmar surface, which is the surface involved when gripping an object and can therefore cause inadvertent activation of the switch. Yet other known prior art devices locate the switch on the index finger of the user to be accessed by the thumb; however, the switch is not accessible by the other fingers of the hand.
Therefore, there exists a need for a one-handed activation device having a switch that is configured to selectively activate an activatable device, such as an illumination assembly, wherein the switch is located on the user's hand such that the user can easily activate the switch with that same hand.